Seafood industry a major contributor to Virginia economy

By Linda Cicoira

Virginia’s seafood industry provided a $1.1 billion boost to the state’s economy in 2019, according to a new study released earlier this month by the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

The commonwealth’s seafood industry supported 7,187 jobs and generated more than $26 million in revenue from local, state, and federal taxes, figures showed. The industry jobs include watermen, aquaculture farmers, processors, and distributors. The total labor income was estimated to be $168.1 million, and the total value added was estimated to be $545 million.

Along with being number one on the East Coast for oyster production, Virginia is fourth in the nation and first on the U.S. Atlantic Coast in seafood landings.

“In 2020, total landings in the commonwealth were valued at more than $200 million,” said Matthew Lohr, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. “The seafood industry continues to be a major contributor to the state’s overall agricultural portfolio.”

Other sectors that benefit from the seafood industry are polystyrene foam product manufacturing, boat building, sporting and athletic goods manufacturing, and commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance through direct expenditures by seafood businesses. Non-depository credit intermediation, owner-occupied dwellings, and real estate sectors are supported as wages and salaries paid to employees throughout the seafood supply chain multiply in Virginia`s economy.

The total economic contribution of Virginia’s seafood industry is comprised of $887.7 million in direct effect, an indirect effect of $117.6 million, and an induced effect of $99.5 million. The economic multiplier of the industry was 1.24, which indicates that every dollar spent in the industry generated an additional $0.24 of output in the Virginia economy in 2019. The total economic impact figures for the industry are conservative. The analysis does not include retail and restaurant services, or the spillover benefits to economies outside Virginia.

Virginia is home to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. Protecting this vital resource is imperative to the future of Virginia’s seafood industry as well as the ecological, social, historical, and cultural value the estuary provides.  Oysters are a critical component of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. A single adult oyster can purge 50 gallons of water a day. The gardening and farming of oysters reduces harvest pressure on wild stocks, and increases the overall number of shellfish that help clean the water and serve as habitat for other marine life.

Surveys included in the study were distributed across the coasts with the highest participation rate, or 29 percent, coming from the Eastern Shore. Of those, 21 percent were watermen, 44 percent were from aquaculture farms and 17 percent were processors and distributors.